Verizon to buy AOL for $4.4 billion

Verizon has announced that it intends to acquire AOL for $4.4 billion or $50 per share. AOL, once popular with its dial-up internet service, now has several media brands, among which The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Engadget, MAKERS and AOL.com. By acquiring AOL, the largest mobile phone operator in the USA will get access to automated advertising technology and digital media clips that will help it make more money from mobile video.

"This acquisition supports our strategy to provide a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers to deliver that premium customer experience," said Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Verizon also plans to distribute AOL's video shows through its mobile and internet-based video channels, as it already does with content sourced from the NFL.

The deal first have to be approved by the regulators. If approved, it will mark the biggest transaction for Verizon after buying Vodafone for $130 billion from its Verizon Wireless business last year. AOL will become a separate devision within Verizon and its current chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong will continue to lead the subsidiary.